Time's a wastin': Summer’s only half over and there are still lots of things left for you to do

Tuesday

Jul 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 31, 2007 at 8:52 PM

Editor's note: Breakout list at bottom

Don’t let the ‘‘Back To School’’ signs and fall wardrobe retail racks fool you: There’s still plenty of summer left to embrace.

By Jack Encarnacao

Editor's note: Breakout list at bottom

Don’t let the ‘‘Back To School’’ signs and fall wardrobe retail racks fool you: There’s still plenty of summer left to embrace.

But the season is half over, and the window of opportunity to soak up the rays gets smaller by the day. So what do you need to do to ensure you bid the season farewell without regrets?

Leanne Rubino of Weymouth said she’s not milking sunshine to the fullest unless the family four-wheel-drive is parked on the sand at Duxbury Beach Park (note: You need a permit sticker to drive onto the sand).

‘‘You drive right on and you lift the hatch,’’ she said. ‘‘You really spend the whole day. It’s perfect with kids. If they want to get in the shade they hop in the car and watch DVDs.’’

Hitting the beach is a no-brainer. For a bit more of a South Shore-specific summer flavor, swim in some of the area’s freshwater ponds, including Houghtons Pond in Milton, where parking is free. It’s located in the Blue Hills Reservation, also a great spot to enjoy the sun on your bike.

‘‘We hiked to the top of Great Blue Hill; to cool off we went swimming in the pond,’’ said Kathleen Sheehan of Newton, who watched as her two children splashed in the pond one day last week.

Some moms also recommend leaving the state at least once in the season for children’s amusements. Jody Purdy-Quinlan of Weymouth makes it a point to get the family to Clark’s Trading Post near Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

‘‘It’s like the old West, all these old buildings and antiques, all kinds of rides for the kids,’’ she said.

Leanne Rubino, who has a 2- and 4-year-old, recommends Storyland in Glen, N.H., which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The family stayed in a hotel there for a couple of nights to make sure the kids got a chance at all the roller coasters they could handle.

‘‘It’s all about the kids,’’ she said.

If you don’t want to cross the state line in search of a Ferris wheel, local options abound. The Marshfield Fair, which kicks off Aug. 17, has enough rides to leave you satisfied for the summer.

The season also presents the opportunity for people to take in open-air entertainment.

Enjoy bands and stand-up comedians in the open air at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset or the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, or keep it lower-key at free summer concerts that are a tradition in more than a dozen South Shore communities.

Purdy-Quinlan says she makes it a point to visit the few remaining drive-in movie theaters in the region, like the ones in Wellfleet and Laconia, N.H.

‘‘It’s so cool, and who knows how long they’re going to be here?’’ she said. ‘‘It’s just so unique and something that I grew up with.’’